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Abandoned: Portsmouth Island, NC. Part 1: The Beach

Bill Terry

Backstory

Portsmouth Island, part of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, is a tidal island across the Ocracoke Inlet from Ocracoke Village. It is about a 20 minute ferry ride from Ocracoke Village.

Portsmouth Village was once a thriving fishing and shipping village on the island. It was established in 1753, and the last residents left in 1971. The island is now part of the Cape Lookout National Seashore, managed by the National Park Service.

The Village was once larger than Ocracoke Village. It had over 800 permanent or temporary residents. There were more than 100 houses.

Ocracoke Inlet was a popular shipping lane during colonial times. Established in 1753, the town of Portsmouth functioned as a lightering port, where cargo from ocean-going vessels could be transferred to shallow-draft vessels capable of traversing Pamlico and Core Sounds. Portsmouth grew to a peak population of 685 in 1860. Though small, Portsmouth was one of the most important points-of-entry along the Atlantic coast in post-Revolutionary America.– Wikipedia

Shipping became so popular that the residents constructed a small man-made island in 1789. Shell Castle was made from oyster shells and served as a shipping depot. The island included a warehouse, a tavern, a grist mill, and several homes. It grew to 60 feet across and half a mile long. Shell Castle was abandoned in 1835 after years of decline, and nothing remains.

Devastating hurricanes in 1846 and 1933, which also cut Oregon Inlet and deepened Hatteras Inlet to the north, spelled the end of Portsmouth Village. The decline of shipping finished the Village.

Hurricane Dorian, in 2019, further damaged the island, demolishing one of the remaining buildings and cutting the path to the island’s beautiful beaches.

Today, 25 buildings in Portsmouth Village remain, and they are maintained to varying degrees by the NPS. Four of them are open for viewing.

First stop: the beach

The Portsmouth Island beach is a beautiful, unsullied 13 mile stretch of secluded, natural shoreline. No buildings, no touristy beach paraphernalia, no trash, etc., etc. The beach was once over 16 miles long but storms, including H. Dorian, shortened it.

Dorian destroyed the path to the village. As a result, visiting requires being dropped off at the beach and then picked up to go to the village.

Wooden dock with a sign for Portsmouth Island Boat Tours, boats moored in the water, and houses in the background.
Waiting in Ocracoke Village for the (small) ferry.
A view of a marina with several boats docked alongside a wooden pier, with buildings visible in the background under a cloudy sky.
Leaving Ocracoke
A person parasailing over the calm waters of Portsmouth Island, with a colorful parachute against a clear blue sky.
Other members of our family participated in a different water-based activity.
A scenic view of Portsmouth Island beach featuring a sandy shoreline, sparse vegetation, and calm waters under a clear blue sky.
The two poles to the right are the dropoff point. See a pier or dock? There are none. Visitors jump off the boat and make their way ashore.
A serene beach on Portsmouth Island, featuring a sandy shore with gentle waves lapping at the coast and a clear blue sky above.
The only critter we saw.
A person sitting alone on a vast, empty beach with gentle waves and a cloudy sky in the background.
A view of a natural beach on Portsmouth Island, featuring dried vegetation and sparse trees against a backdrop of blue skies with a few clouds.
Close-up view of rippled sand along the shoreline with shallow water reflecting the landscape.
A coastal marsh landscape on Portsmouth Island, featuring patches of mud, water pools, and scattered vegetation.
It looks like a three- dimensional map of an other- worldly area.
A weathered, driftwood stump stands on a sandy beach, surrounded by grass and vegetation.
Lots of “remnants” on the beach itself
Close-up of a textured surface showing a natural pattern resembling a figure, with darker areas contrasting against a lighter background.
Close-up of a scallop shell resting on fine sand at Portsmouth Island beach.
Shelling is very popular.
A weathered piece of driftwood standing upright on a sandy beach, surrounded by small shells and pebbles.
Bird tracks in the sandy beach of Portsmouth Island, North Carolina.
A close-up of an orange scallop shell resting on sandy beach surface.
A close-up view of sandy terrain on Portsmouth Island showing sparse, dry vegetation and remnants of dead branches, with the ocean visible in the background under a clear blue sky.
A barren area of Portsmouth Island featuring white, bleached branches and sparse vegetation against a backdrop of a gray sky.
A serene beach view on Portsmouth Island, featuring gentle waves lapping at the sandy shore with seaweed scattered along the beach and a small boat in the distance under a partly cloudy sky.
Our ride returns to take us the Village

Click here for Part 2: the Village.

View all my Outer Banks posts through the years, 1983-2025!

Click here to see full size, no watermark, images at www.ImagesByBill.us

Thanks for visiting.

June 6, 2025

One response to “Abandoned: Portsmouth Island, NC. Part 1: The Beach”

  1. Abandoned: Portsmouth Island, NC. Part 2: The Village

    […] Click here to read the rest of the Village’s interesting Backstory in my Part 1 of Portsmouth …. […]

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